Blog - MIE solutions UK Ltd

You have finally taken the plunge to change the way you view your manufacturing processes forever. You’ve been given the go ahead to find your favourite five or less suppliers.

How do you choose?

Building the shortlist of manufacturing software suppliers is one of the more challenging steps in software selection. It is advisable to evaluate no more than five products in great depth, so you need to ensure that you narrow down the field to five or fewer objectively and correctly.

Picture this, you’re the production manager for a successful manufacturing company that has seen growth each year, you cannot move for all your machines, staff and stock, you’re outgrowing your factory. You cannot justify moving as your reports are showing another story.

It’s another day on the production line and your machine is scheduled for a maintenance check, you haven’t got time, your production board is filled to the brim, management want your weekly figures and then it happens, your main machine has broken down. Everything grinds to a halt, the whole factory goes quiet. By the end of the day you know your customers are going to be screaming for their promised orders, by the end of the week your customers will go elsewhere. All your deadlines promised will now have to be rescheduled. Customer services are going to spend the next days deflecting calls. You yell at someone, and shut yourself away into your office you make the call to maintenance-now you wait hoping that your machine will be back up and running within the 24 hours as promised.

Do you remember the first part you made and how proud you were of your creation?

Do you still feel the same today when you see your product created on your production line?

Did you know that Henry Ford designed the first moving assembly line back in 1913? This revolutionised the manufacturing processes of his Ford Model T. This assembly line became the benchmark for mass production methods around the world.

In the early days, cars were built one at a time, the cars sat on the ground through the build and mechanics sourced parts and returned to the car to assemble it from the chassis upwards. Each team moved along to the next car and so on. This was not a speedy process, and production levels were low and the price for the team of professional mechanics needed was expensive. This ultimately meant the price of the car was expensive.

What was needed was automation, to be able to create larger quantities in a faster timescale.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) used to be a term that was often only associated with large corporations that had entire teams of analysts whose sole purpose was to create and then analyse company data. This data would then be used to further improve the company’s efficiency and enable them to set future goals.

The reason for demand for certain products differs from industry to industry. So many factors can play a part in demand with some being more predictable than others. One of the most common influences are seasons. Some products are better suited for certain times throughout the year. For example, the sales of barbeques are generally higher in the summer whereas the sales for heaters normally peak during the cold winter months. Another prime example of something that can affect demand is marketing. Your company may be about to publish a new advert in the industry’s leading magazine and so the awareness of your product or service will increase.

Further improving the efficiency of the shop floor is every manufacturer’s ongoing goal. Over a long period of time, even the smallest of inefficiencies mount up to create a cost that is worth taking note of. A lot of these inefficiencies are not caused by the manufacturing process itself, but more commonly by aspects that accompany it. Examples can be things such as trying to find materials or even getting machines set up to run a batch.

Having the ability to manage projects as a whole is becoming more and more important for companies as industries become ever more competitive. The effectiveness of being able to view and keep of control of jobs as a whole once they have been won can help determine a company’s reputation, profitability and can influence the likelihood of winning future contracts.

When it comes to selecting an ERP system, at a glance, you are spoilt for choice. There are ERP systems that are designed for companies of all sizes and industries, so how are you to narrow your search down in order to find the one that’s right for your company? Today we are going to look at three main benefits of going down the route of industry specific ERP. There is no doubt that many systems could potentially be customised to suit your needs, but what are the plus points of going with a specific, out the box package?

Following strict procedures and process flows are vital when your company is required to keep in line with certain accreditations. Even the most common and recognised accreditations, such as ISO9001 and AS9100, demand strict compliance on certain areas of quality. A lot of accreditations are written based around ERP/MRP systems, so certain aspects should be considered when choosing a system in the first place.

Here at MIE we are strong believers in investing in the future and playing a part in creating the workforce of tomorrow. Apprenticeships have a large part to play in MIE’s success as the company has benefitted as well as the employees themselves.